Construction along Highway 100 between 26th and 57th streets on the eastern edge of Sioux Falls is expected to open by Oct. 25. / Jay Pickthorn / Argus Leader

Tentative construction start dates

Dusty Johnson

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An agreement between the city of Sioux Falls and the state of South Dakota will speed up construction of long-awaited South Dakota Highway 100 but also leave the city with long-term responsibility for maintaining the street.

For years, the project to build a six-lane road paralleling Interstate 229 was put off because of a lack of federal money. Seeing that the delay was stalling development of eastern Sioux Falls, the city worked out an exchange with the state.

Through a 2005 agreement, the city took over maintenance for 25 miles of state highways that ran through the city, including Minnesota Avenue and 12th Street. One of the key points of the agreement was the state’s promise to construct Highway 100.

Some segments have been finished, including a stretch that helped spark development of the Dawley Farm retail area.

Another piece between 26th and 57th streets is set to open by Oct. 25.

Building the highway to the north, including a connection to Intertate 90, has been held up by continued uncertainty involving federal money.

So the city and state began talks last year to revise the 2005 agreement to help get it done.

“Because of the leadership the city has shown, this project is going to get done a lot sooner than it otherwise would,” said Dusty Johnson, who was in on negotiations as chief of staff for Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

Continuing the work north is a $56.6 million project that would take about five years to complete. At that point, the city would take over maintenance, including snow plowing, for the 7.5-mile stretch.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation has committed to building the northern segment of highway — from Madison Street to Powder House Road — starting in 2015. In exchange, the city, rather than the state, will pay to maintain the road in the future.

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Madison to Maple would start in 2015

The agreement lays out a schedule for the work. Construction on the first segment, from Madison Street to Maple Street, would start in 2015. Work on the segments from Maple to Rice Street and Rice to I-90 would get underway in the following years.

Public Works Director Mark Cotter said the project means a lot for the growing city. Eastern Sioux Falls has 23,000 acres of land ripe for development, but it won’t see its full potential until Highway 100 is connected to I-90, he said.

“It’s critical that we have the transportation system to support it,” Cotter said.

Joel Jundt, Department of Transportation director of planning and engineering, said putting the road under city jurisdiction makes sense.

“As built, it does function more as a city street,” he said.

The highway originally was supposed to be done by 2016 at the cost of $72.8 million. Federal funding was to pay for 80 percent of that, but the money was held up through the recession. Now, it’s estimated the project will cost three times that.

The state Department of Transportation is waiting through the federal government shutdown for its annual funding. Jundt expects the state will receive a similar amount as last year. With that, he said, the state will be able to begin work on Highway 100. Meanwhile Department of Transportation officials are working to revise the environmental documents for the project, and then they’ll have to acquire the right of way.

Johnson said it won’t be easy, but the state will be able to put funding into the project and complete day-to-day work of road maintenance across the state.

“I think it’s nice that business in South Dakota can still get done like that, even in face of so much uncertainty at the federal level,” he said.

Future growth area for Sioux Falls

Maintenance would cost the city $4.7 million per mile over the 40-year lifespan of the new road, Cotter said. At the end of the road’s lifespan, the city would be responsible for it.

Councilman Dean Karsky asked how the city could maintain a road that is not within current city limits. Cotter said it is in the future growth area.

“It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” he said.

Highway 100 eventually will extend 17 miles, connecting I-90 at the EROS exit to I-29 at the Tea exit.

The new agreement doesn’t discuss the southern part of the project, but Cotter said the state still is committed to doing that work in the future.